Martin County Currents_February 2018

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8 Voices Martin County Currents February 2018 Editorial: One important lesson from Lake Point If you are outraged or celebrating the verdict in Lake Point's case against Maggy Hurchalla, remember that the jury listened to both sides. Whether or not the ruling holds on appeal, a multitude of lessons still can be learned. One in particular, however, may be overlooked, and that is the vital role that the county attorney contributes to our quality of life by keep litigation costs low in order to spend tax money elsewhere. County Attorney Sarah Woods accounts directly to the Board of County Commissioners. Only they can hire or fire her. Woods has demonstrated repeatedly during numerous commission meetings that when advising the commissioners, even when she knows they may want to take a different course, even though she knows her job could be at stake, she sticks to the law. Had she been county attorney in 2012, we doubt seriously the county would have so easily continued down the path that led to the Lake Point lawsuit in the first place. But she became county attorney in 2016 and inherited the Lake Point case after the county had already spent in excess of $5 million of tax money defending themselves. She presented the cold, hard facts to the commissioners that led to a settlement, getting Martin Commissioners not 'victims' of Lake Point County taxpayers out from under a ruling for a possible $66 million judgment for damages. After Lake Point's settlement with the South Florida Water Management District, however, that damages claim was reduced to $22 million. Lake Point settled for a mere – by comparison – $12 million cash payout from Martin County. Seeing the results now of Lake Point's winning case against Hurchalla, it's clear that Woods and the four commissioners who agreed with her advice to settle the Lake Point lawsuit, including Ed Fielding, saved Martin County taxpayers at least $10 million – plus the millions going to outside litigators to defend the county's untenable position. Do not think for one second that it was easy advice to give at the time. Martin County had been waging war against Lake Point for nearly five years. Reputations – and future elections – were at stake. One commissioner wanted to go all the way to prove in a court of law that Lake Point had been wronged, and another commissioner wanted to go to court to prove that the county had been right. Either direction would result in costing taxpayers millions of dollars. After careful research, Woods concluded that Martin County would be illadvised to continue in court, likely for years, and would be acting more responsibly to taxpayers by agreeing to accept Letters to the Editor: Nearly every day I find myself shaking my head at the number of good people who have been swayed by the online emails that portray County Commissioners Ed Fielding, Sarah Heard and former commissioner Anne Scott as “victims.” They are not victims. In fact, it is just the other way around. They duped and victimized Martin County taxpayers for four years, pretending they were looking out for the environment, when in fact they actually were looking out for themselves. Now that they might be held accountable by both the court and the voters for their unscrupulous conduct, lack of transparency and fiscal irresponsibility that cost taxpayers millions of dollars, an extremist group has launched a finely choreographed assault on every person not in their camp, including the Circuit Court, the State Attorney's office, the County Commission majority, and even the 15 or so fellow citizens who served as Grand Jurors. Remember, it was the Grand Jury who wrote the criminal indictments served on Mr. Fielding, Ms. Scott, on most recently against Ms. Heard. Their conduct already was scrutinized by a civil court, and they were found to be flagrantly violating the law, which resulted in Martin County taxpayers having to pay the Lake Point rock mine more than $500,000 in sanctions for commissioners who did not follow the state's public records laws. Now a Circuit Court jury has awarded Lake Point more than $4 million in damages in its case against Maggy Hurchalla. I applaud Commissioners Ed Ciampi, Harold Jenkins and Doug Smith for ending the taxpayer bloodbath by settling the Lake Point case before it went to court before a judge who had already urged Martin County to settle the case. The settlement also stopped the flow of funds to outside attorneys, which had topped $5 million, and ended the funding of Ms. Heard's and Mr. Fielding's private attorneys. This taxpayer is grateful for that. James Brown Hobe Sound A witch hunt? It's likely not Picture a scenario where legitimate requests for public records were made (in this case, Commissioners’ emails). The records were not produced. A duly appointed arbitrator concluded that this lack of production was a little fishy, a State Attorney and, later, a Circuit Court Judge subpoenaed these records from different sources (commissioners’ personal computers, the county’s servers Lake Point's settlement offer to end their case now. County employees reported that they heard the verbal assault Woods suffered behind closed doors by a screaming Commissioner Sarah Heard, who maintained then – and still maintains today – that the county did not breach any contract pertaining to Lake Point. Hers was the sole vote to continue litigation. In addition to ending the lawsuit, a settlement would mean that the county would no longer be paying Heard's personal attorney fees to defend her against the state's criminal misdemeanors that allege she violated state public records laws in the Lake Point case. Just a few weeks later, after the county commission had approved the steps to seek a proposal from lending institutions for the $12 million they did not have in the budget, Senior Assistant County Attorney Krista Storey was subjected to the same behind-closed-doors screaming tirade that Heard had launched against Woods previously, according to county employees. Storey had discovered during a January county commission meeting that Heard had refused – and was still refusing – to sign a document required by lending institutions verifying that no Sunshine Laws had been violated by the commissioner pertaining to that loan. No lending institution would loan Martin County $12 million without the sworn affidavit from each commissioner, according to the county's financial consultant, which Storey reported to the commission board. When asked the consequences of Heard's refusal, Storey responded that Martin County likely would miss the deadline to pay Lake Point, as the county would have to search for other lending institutions with higher interest rates due to their perceived risk of a future lawsuit. In addition, if Martin County missed the legal deadline for paying Lake Point, the county would lose its $3 million deposit already paid on top of paying the higher interest rate and on top of the $12 million settlement. The board adjourned briefly, and after Heard's tirade, Storey presented Heard's signed document that satisfied the consultant. Krista Storey, like Sarah Woods, is an unsung Martin County hero, saving taxpayers millions in this one case alone. The scary fact is that they both are set to retire soon. In their upcoming search, commissioners should remember one lesson from Lake Point: Find a county attorney like either Sarah Woods or Krista Storey willing to stand up for the truth – even if it's not what the commissioners want to hear – willing to say, “Don't go down this path.” ■ and Yahoo servers). The records were produced in response to these subpoenas. The records were reviewed by a Grand Jury (that’s people just like you and me, folks). The Grand Jury criminally indicted two sitting commissioners and one former commissioner for violating public records laws, and those indicted were arrested. Makes sense. Then, from the dais during a January Martin County Commission meeting, one of the indicted and arrested Commissioners reveals, miraculously, that – contrary to the findings of the legal process outlined above – the indicted parties are pure as the driven snow and are victims of a “witch hunt.” According to her, the entire scenario is the vile creation of three sitting Commissioners who were bought and paid for with campaign contributions. (So I guess it really wasn’t their fault.) This in spite of the fact that two of the so-called offending Commissioners weren’t even on the commission when the underlying project was before them, and the other cast the same vote of approval as the indicted Commissioners. Mysteriously, none of those three Commissioners has been indicted for, accused of, or even implicated in connection with any violation of the law. Beware of the perpetrator who casts him/herself as the “victim.” A false narrative, once created, is easy for folks to repeat it until it becomes, somehow, acceptable. In the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Witch hunt? Maybe not. Dave Keiper Stuart Not time for new school board building At its December Board of Directors meeting, the Martin County Taxpayers Association voted to express its opinion on a new Administration Building for the School District. We believe that until and unless all schools are brought up to standard, i.e. Jensen Beach Elementary and others, and capacity is in place at all levels of our school, that it is premature to discuss building new facilities for the School administration. Student education and safety is, has always been and will always remain the top priority and only reason to even have a school administration building. We suggest that if there is a real space need that the School Board look at existing office space for lease or possible lease purchase. We also suggest that the School District look at sharing space with the County, eliminating duplication, and saving taxpayer dollars best spent on classrooms. Thank you! Thomas G. Kenny, III, President Martin County Taxpayers Association
Martin County Currents February 2018 Voices 9 Time to take serious look at doing our part Melanie Peterson Guest Columnist The St. Lucie River and Estuary in Martin County and the Indian River Lagoon are replete with natural beauty and recreational opportunities to be enjoyed by residents and visitors year-round. Unless, of course, it was during one of the 184 times the Florida Department of Health had to issue “No Swimming” advisories for beaches and other swimming spots in Martin County since 2002. The culprit — unsafe levels of bacteria in the water that can make people sick. Shedding some light on the cause are two recent peer-reviewed papers by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, which point to the source of this beach-closing bacteria as septic system pollution. Special interest groups and activists from the Treasure Coast are quick to look west to Lake Okeechobee or to agriculture lands south of the lake to place blame for their water quality concerns. In reality, the contamination depriving the public of access to the St. Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon is right in their own backyards — human waste contamination from septic tanks. One of the South Florida Water Management District’s core missions is to protect the health and safety of the environment and the public. That is why we have invested billions of dollars in restoring the water quality of the Everglades, protecting the northern estuaries and improving our flood control system that protects 8.1 million residents. We have done, and are continuing to do, our part. The time is long overdue for residents and communities to do their part by addressing the significant threat to public safety posed by septic system pollution. There are still thousands of septic tanks within the urban services boundary in Martin County. Section 381.00655 of Florida Statutes requires that property owners with septic tanks, even if they are functioning properly, hook up to nearby available sewer lines within a year of being notified by the utility. Local governments are not enforcing this law or encouraging property owners, who are unwittingly polluting their own waterways, to connect to the available sewer service. Even more outrageous, communities like Sewall’s Point are now voluntarily choosing not to be part of the solution. Meanwhile, these same communities, who are not investing a penny of their own money to stop polluting their own waterways, are asking others across South Florida to follow the law and spend billions of taxpayer dollars for projects to protect the St. Lucie Estuary. It is time for local governments to step up and do their part to address their local septic tanks that spew pollution into the estuary every day, making it unsafe for the public and harmful to plants and wildlife. When pointing fingers at the source of the problem, they need look no further than in their own backyards to make a difference for Florida’s future and make the most immediate impact on the water quality challenges of the present. ■ Melanie Peterson South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Member In face of tragedy, Americans show their heart Nancy Smith Guest Columnist The shooting deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland last Wednesday has inspired in its aftermath far more than a political outcry for a conversation on gun control. It has exposed the sheer, incomparable heart of the American people. Seems to me the vast outpouring of emotional expression and acts of goodness and compassion can easily be overlooked amid overwhelming grief and political rancor. But have a look at a handful of the uplifting snippets that didn't make the big headlines after Valentine's Day yet still say so much about who we are and how we come together in our darkest hours: -- The morning after the shooting, composer Neal Morse wrote and published an acoustic song and produced an impromptu video of himself performing it. It's entitled “What If It Was Your Child?” Go to You Tube and listen to the video. -- Elementary school students from Bangor, Me. sent 17 teddy bears, one for each grave and each with a victim's name emblazoned on it. At last check, the teddies were still en route. -- A group called Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 Comfort Dogs has deployed as many as 10 therapy or comfort dogs (all golden retrievers) to Florida from North Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere to ease victims of Wednesday’s shooting. It’s not the first time this group of goldens has helped people recover from shooting tragedies. The dogs showed up on the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. And nearly 20 dogs traveled to Las Vegas after last fall’s mass shooting. The Illinois-based charity has a “staff” of about 100 dogs -- all golden retrievers. -- The women of Sigma Delta Tau and the FSU Student Government Association came together to host a vigil in honor of those affected by the tragedy. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High sends more than 50 students to FSU every year. Sophia Giannone, president of the sorority, explained the event was about “what the community can do to try to pick up the pieces.” -- The Florida Panthers wore special patches with "MSD" etched on them and decals of the school's mascot on the back of their helmets. Before the game Saturday night against the Flames, Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary observed a moment of silence. Before the team's next home game in Sunrise, the Panthers have a blood drive for the victims scheduled. -- Orlando’s News 6 has partnered with the group Public Good to help people find reputable organizations pitching in to help. Says the TV station, it's part of a team effort with five organizations: Broward Health Foundation, Cure Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, the National Center for the Victims of Crime, and the American Red Cross. -- A group of businessmen in Des Moines will meet Tuesday to discuss sending a work crew -- strictly volunteers -- to Douglas High School to remove all trace of damage done by gun shots and repaint the areas of the building suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz affected. It will be an offer made to the School Board. -- A parents organization in Dallas has started "Tell Us What We Can Do," a movement to grant the wishes of Parkland victims' families -- in fact, all families of children whose lives were ended in a school by a terrorist. "We're just getting organized," group leader Kay Stropp told Sunshine State News. "We thought these families in Florida each would have different needs at this time, things that could help ease them through, knowing there are fellow Americans out here pulling for them. That's the role we want to fill." Despite these and countless other outpourings of kindness, there is a difference in Americans' reaction to Parkland compared to other shooting tragedies. It's determined outrage. It's anger and frustration that no gun-control law - - not even common-sense government interference -- was there to stop a determined shooter giving out all the signals he was capable of such an atrocious act. This time, even some clergy are admitting prayer vigils and a nation's sympathy would not be enough. Jim Kast-Keat, pastor of Riverside Church in New York, put it this way: "Too often we find ourselves calling ourselves into our holy huddles, filled with our thoughts and prayers, while the world goes to hell around us. As cheesy as it might sound, I want people to stop going to church and I want them to start being the church. I want them to stop praying with their thoughts and start praying with their bodies and their votes and their voices." ■ Nancy Smith, former editor of The Stuart News for 28 years, is the Executive Editor of Sunshine State News. Nancy Smith@nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com
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Martin County Currents_February 2018

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